Friday, January 30, 2009

Knitting plus

A few people are still asking what the heck I did with myself while I was in Paris. As you know, not much. Another friend recently commented when she saw me knitting at work, "You're still doing that?" As a matter of fact…yes. Yes indeed.

When I was home in Paris, watching movies or whatnot, I was also usually knitting.

A list of what I knit in Paris (not in the actual order of knitting):

a lace scarf (might rip it out and re-knit—it got a few 'pulls')

my first garment (a sort of shrug/sweater thingy)

a beret (alternating black and brown)

a purple hat (small tam-style)

a two-color cotton scarf that I disliked and left in the closet of the Paris apartment

a warm scarf to match the beret (mostly black, then finished with some random black/grey striped yarn)

socks for Pele

socks for KJ

socks for me (it was cold and I needed warm socks)

a hat for Kent

a hat for his buddy (don't know if the buddy got it…)

a hat that I gave to Alicia (originally intended for me, but I hardly needed a third wool hat)

a pair of fingerless mitts that started out as a scarf that got ripped back (finished in US)

a wash cloth

two or three failed attempts at slippers

one semi-successful attempt at slippers that yielded a single slipper (need to knit its mate)

another wool scarf that ended up being Mom's Chanukah present

It was a productive knitting time. Since I've been back, I finished the fingerless mitts. One of my most amusing memories involves these mitts. On my last trip to London, when Kent and I rented a little apartment for about a week, we spent one morning sitting at the dining table doing our "crafts." I worked diligently on the fingerless mitts—it was a lace pattern and used a very fine yarn, so, though a small project it was time-consuming. Kent was transforming a beanie (not the one I knit for him!) into a secret Santa present for his buddy. We sat there, he sewing, me knitting, after we'd had our breakfast, gazing out on a very grey London day. We chatted a little and laughed at ourselves for our domesticity in extremis. Then we got the heck out of there and did some sightseeing.

Also since being back, I've knit socks for my uncle (will go in the mail today), started socks for me, started a vest for Dad's birthday present, and ordered enough yarn to make socks for my brother and a real honest-to-goodness black cardigan for me. I am scared to start on the cardigan but I want it so desperately that I will muster my courage, soon, and get going on it.

Still, when people ask me what I did in Paris, I don't usually say "knit up a storm," but it would be one truthful answer.